RICS Summit Africa 2019

The leading event for the built environment and real estate in Sub-Saharan Africa returns in 2019 bringing together chief executives, CFO’s, Managing Directors and Presidents of the African built environment’s most influential organisations.

Event overview

This year’s theme “Investing with Impact – Collaboration and Innovation” will focus on how collaborative partnerships and impactful investment is shaping the future of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Key topics for discussion will include an in-depth look into inward investment, geopolitics and cross-border collaboration, as well as an examination of current and future investment trends in cities, renewable energy and transport infrastructure. The agenda will also address established and emerging models of funding.

Attend to hear regional and international speakers address these pertinent subjects and explore possible collaborative and innovative strategies to push Africa forward as a global thought leader and influencer in the built environment sector.

Want to become an EDGE Expert? Attend the workshop prior to the Africa Summit:

Tuesday 28 May: Johannesburg

Attend a technical tour followed by the RICS Summit Africa networking drinks reception in the evening.

Technical tour

The technical tour will be a site visit of The MARC (Maude And Rivonia Corner), a new development which focusses on convenience, fine dining and pure indulgence for shoppers. Sponsored by AECOM, this event includes a guided tour of the project by Eris and refreshments thereafter at the Maslow Hotel, Johannesburg. The tour commences at 2pm and last approximately 1.5 hours. Booking in advance is required to secure your place.

Networking Drinks Reception

Network with professionals in the real estate and built environment the night before the conference. The drinks will be held on the 29 May from 6-8:30pm at the Maslow Hotel, Johannesburg. Hear from international speakers, including Tim Neal, President Elect, RICS and Tara Shirvani, Project Manager, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Tara is the 2018 Women of the Future award winner.

The RICS Summit Africa takes place throughout the day. Key sessions include:

This presentation will dwell the recent macroeconomic realities and near-term outlook of Sub-Saharan Africa. This session will focus on the comparative outlook of overall and sectoral growth, trade, investment, internal/external liquidity, capital flows, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates, as well as the realities of government revenue and debt of leading Sub-Saharan African countries.

Dr Ayodele Teriba, CEO, Economic Associates

Discussion points include:

Economy and Main Sectors

Trade and Investment

Liquidity and Capital Flows

Exchange Rates and Interest Rates

Fiscal Realities- Revenue and Debt

Panel: Building the future through impactful investment

Investment is more than a financial gain. It shapes the future of our world, which makes it increasingly important to attract the right foreign investment to boost the economy's capacity to grow. Attend to hear who is investing where and why, as well as emerging investment markets, investment risk allocation, and to what extent big data and transparency will impact investment.

Panellists will include:

Tim Neal, President Elect, RICS

Lenore Cairncross, Green Building Lead – Africa, IFC

Yaw Yeboah, Chief Executive, Infracon Consulting

The urban utopia: Shaping our future cities

With mass urbanisation comes the opportunity to play a key role in shaping the future of our cities. Key considerations must be made: what will cities look like? What infrastructure must be considered? And how can digital disruptors and technological innovation be used to enhance this? Will the global market switch its focus on emerging markets? And how can cities utilise the youth migrating to them to develop their futures, engaging them through community initiatives to find solutions to urban challenges? Cities have the potential to be the driving force of progress, and city leaders must meld strategic investment planning with governance mechanisms and new financing tools to shape our cities of tomorrow.

Panellists will include:

Tim Neal, President Elect, RICS

Tara Shirvani, Project Manager, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Jess Cleland, Divisional Director – East Africa, Broll Property Group

Komani Mfuni, Senior Manager, Betapoint

The value of strategic Facilities Management in the future of African real estate

Through a forecast on the future of African real estate, this session will explore the role strategic FM plays in shaping the future of commercial real estate. What value does it add and how does it make property more investible?

Speaker:

Andrew Mason, Business Owner, Workplacefundi

Closing keynote panel: Future for investment in Africa through collaboration and innovation

Considering how Africa fares comparatively to the rest of the world, this panel will discuss possible collaborative and innovative strategies to push Africa forward as a thought leader. According to the World Bank, one of the highest rates of female entrepreneurship is in Africa. How can this be utilised to create diverse economic and social opportunities, particularly for the booming youth? How can collaboration between the public and private sectors stimulate impactful investments, as well as cross-border partnerships? And how do technological advancements and the Fourth Industrial Revolution fit into this? The panel will discuss how we can move towards transparent and collaborative leadership and address the trust deficit many feel in their leaders, as well as models of funding that have worked in Africa and what the emerging global best practices and technologies in financing are.

Breakout sessions will include:

Compulsory Land Acquisition, Valuation and Compensation in Africa: Implications on Security of Tenure and Investments

Dr Maxwell Mutema will explore the common reasons and approaches used for Compulsory Land Acquisition through a variety of international case studies, as well as highlight best practice used within Sub-Saharan Africa and internationally. He will discuss the impact on security of tenure, including pertinent broader land tenure and property right issues in Africa. The impact on both domestic and foreign direct investment will be examined along with recommendations.